Facebook revenues rises to $800m

Facebook saw its revenue surge to as much as $800m (£540m) last year as the social networking giant continued to come of age.

Facebook revenues rises to $800m Photo

The company, which continues to hit the headlines over questions about its handling of users' personal details and information, is reported to have made a post-tax profit of "tens of millions of dollars" on the sales, the estimate of which is higher than all previous estimates.

News agency Reuters first reported that Facebook, run by 26-year-old Mark Zuckerberg, booked sales of $700m-$800m in 2009, sharply higher than previous estimates which had topped off at $700m. Facebook remains a private company, and so detailed financial data is not disclosed.

However, the number is thought to be twice Facebook's revenue for 2008, the prior year.

If correct, the figures bode well should Mr Zuckerberg decide to press ahead with his eventual plan to float the business, allowing him to cash out on his success.

However, in January, Yuri Milner, the chief executive of Digital Sky Technologies which owns a $500m stake in Facebook, said there would be "no near-term IPO on Facebook". He clarified this to mean not in 2010. "It is all about getting the product and team right," Mr Milner added.

However, based on annual sales north of $700m, advisory firm NYPPEX has said in the past that Facebook would have an implied stock market value of $7.6bn.
The site has more than 400m active users, with 50pc of active users logging on to Facebook on any given day.
A Facebook spokesman declined to comment.